On January 8th, the Governor held his annual State of the State address. You can watch his full archived address here. The Governor covered a long list of planned actions related to healthcare, environmental conservation, economic development, and criminal justice. Notably, the Governor called for the passage of an Equal Rights Amendment and a "Restore Mother Nature" bon act to create natural habitat restoration and flood reduction. The Governor also highlighted the looming $6 billion deficit. Although he proposed several new funding streams, such as legalizing recreational marijuana, many advocates are doubtful that the state will be able to fill this hole without raising revenue from taxes. 

 

In the coming weeks, the League will focus its advocacy efforts on securing funds for the State Board of elections and county boards for 2020's three periods of early voting. At the end of the month, we will be releasing a pre-budget lobby packet so local Leagues can meet with their state representative on the need for this critical funding. 

Interested in getting your local League involved with census efforts? Join us in Syracuse for New York Counts' Upstate State convening. Workshops will include information on how to engage locally in hard to count areas, how to "get out the count" and ensure all members of your community are counted, and information on working with complete count committees. To see the full schedule and register click here.